Taylor Townsend vs. Taylah Preston — US Open 2026 Second-Round Match Report
Australia arrived in New York with six women in the main draw.
Now there are none.
Taylor Townsend completed the wipeout by dismantling Taylah Preston 6-1, 6-1, ending the 20-year-old wildcard’s encouraging run and closing the door on an Australian contingent that had looked far more promising only a few days earlier.
Australia arrived in New York with six women in the main draw. By the time Taylor Townsend finished with Taylah Preston, five of them had been eliminated, leaving Maya Joint as the country’s final hope.
Preston was one of the last ones standing.
Townsend gave her nothing.
The American won every first-serve point she played, never faced a break point and produced one of the most one-sided statistical performances of the tournament so far.
Townsend Takes the First Set Apart From 1-1
Preston actually opened competitively.
Townsend held for 1-0 and Preston answered for 1-1.
That was effectively the end of the resistance.
Townsend held for 2-1 and then broke for 3-1 after Preston had chances to escape the game.
A comfortable hold stretched the advantage to 4-1.
Then came another break.
5-1.
Townsend served out the set immediately afterwards.
6-1.
From 1-1, she had won five consecutive games and reduced Preston to reacting rather than creating.
Set 1 at a Glance
- Townsend won her service points at 89% (16/18), while Preston managed just 40% (8/20).
- Townsend won her service games at a perfect 4 of 4, while Preston managed 1 of 3.
- Townsend won 28 of 38 total points, hitting 4 aces to Preston’s 0.
Full Set 1 Stats
| Townsend | Statistic | Preston |
|---|---|---|
| Set 1 Duration: 0h22m | ||
| 5.40 | Dominance Ratio | 0.19 |
| 6 | Winners | 1 |
| 4 | Unforced Errors | 14 |
| 329 | Serve Rating | 170 |
| 4 | Aces | 0 |
| 1 | Double Faults | 3 |
| 83% (15/18) | 1st Serve % | 65% (13/20) |
| 93% (14/15) | 1st Serve Points Won | 46% (6/13) |
| 50% (2/4) | 2nd Serve Points Won | 29% (2/7) |
| – (0/0) | Break Points Saved | 33% (1/3) |
| 259 | Return Rating | 57 |
| 54% (7/13) | 1st Return Points Won | 7% (1/15) |
| 71% (5/7) | 2nd Return Points Won | 50% (2/4) |
| 2/3 | Break Points Won | – (0/0) |
| 28 | Total Points Won | 10 |
The Second Set Is Even More Severe
Preston held the opening game of the second set.
Again, that would be her only one.
Townsend levelled at 1-1 before breaking for 2-1.
A hold made it 3-1.
Another break followed for 4-1.
Townsend then held to move within one game of victory, leaving Preston serving at 1-5 simply to stay in the tournament.
The final game became a struggle.
Preston saved match points and fought through repeated pressure, but Townsend kept returning to the door.
Eventually she broke again.
6-1.
Six of the final seven games belonged to Townsend.
Across the entire match, Preston won just two.
Set 2 at a Glance
- Townsend hit 4 aces to Preston’s 0, and didn’t commit a single double fault (0) compared with Preston’s 4.
- Townsend won 71% of pressure points, 5 of 7, well ahead of Preston’s 2 of 7.
- Townsend won 28 of 40 total points, hitting 8 winners to Preston’s 1.
Full Set 2 Stats
| Townsend | Statistic | Preston |
|---|---|---|
| Set 2 Duration: 0h27m | ||
| 4.31 | Dominance Ratio | 0.23 |
| 8 | Winners | 1 |
| 7 | Unforced Errors | 14 |
| 334 | Serve Rating | 164 |
| 4 | Aces | 0 |
| 0 | Double Faults | 4 |
| 79% (11/14) | 1st Serve % | 62% (16/26) |
| 91% (10/11) | 1st Serve Points Won | 38% (6/16) |
| 60% (3/5) | 2nd Serve Points Won | 43% (6/14) |
| – (0/0) | Break Points Saved | 40% (2/5) |
| 255 | Return Rating | 49 |
| 63% (10/16) | 1st Return Points Won | 9% (1/11) |
| 57% (8/14) | 2nd Return Points Won | 40% (2/5) |
| 3/5 | Break Points Won | – (0/0) |
| 28 | Total Points Won | 12 |
Townsend Wins Every Single First-Serve Point
Some match statistics require interpretation.
This one barely does.
Townsend won 23 of 23 first-serve points.
One hundred percent.
Preston therefore did not win a single point when Townsend landed a first serve.
She did not earn a break point either.
Townsend held all seven of her service games, hit eight aces and committed only one double fault.
Her return numbers were almost as destructive.
She won 60 percent of Preston’s first-serve points and 62 percent behind Preston’s second serve, converting five of eight break points.
Preston’s serve deteriorated badly under that pressure. She committed seven double faults and won only 18 of 46 service points.
The winner count was 14-2 to Townsend.
Preston also committed 28 unforced errors against Townsend’s 11.
By the end, Townsend had won 56 of the 78 points played.
Her dominance ratio was a remarkable 4.87.
Preston’s was 0.21.
There was no statistical corner of the match in which the Australian had managed to establish herself.
Preston’s US Open Still Contained Something Worth Keeping
The score should not erase Preston’s first round.
The young Australian received a wildcard into the main draw and used it well, beating Alycia Parks 6-3, 6-3 to earn her place in Round 2.
Preston has long been regarded as one of Australia’s more interesting young prospects. Born in Perth, she built a strong junior career before moving increasingly into senior competition and has represented Australia at junior Grand Slam level.
This was also valuable exposure to the level required against an opponent playing with Townsend’s confidence.
Townsend gave Preston very few neutral points. Her left-handed serve immediately shifted rallies in her favour, while her willingness to move forward kept Preston from settling into predictable baseline patterns.
There was also an enormous difference in experience.
Townsend has spent years moving between singles and doubles at the highest level, building a reputation as one of the tour’s most instinctive all-court players.
Her singles career has always contained reminders that the same variety can trouble very good opponents there too.
This week is producing another one.
Six Australians Started, and Not One Reaches Round Three
That is the broader story for Australia.
The country began with six women in the main draw:
Storm Hunter, Talia Gibson, Daria Kasatkina, Maya Joint, Kimberly Birrell and Taylah Preston.
There were reasons for optimism.
Preston beat Parks in straight sets.
Birrell came from a set down to defeat Petra Marcinko in Round 1 before taking No. 18 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova to three sets in the second. Eventually, Joint also pushed No. 9 seed Elina Svitolina deep into a deciding set before losing 6-2, 6-7(6), 6-4.
But the results kept accumulating in the wrong column.
Hunter lost to Marta Kostyuk in the opening round.
Gibson went out to Donna Vekic.
Kasatkina fell to Paula Badosa.
Joint followed in Round 2.
Birrell followed her.
And Townsend removed Preston 6-1, 6-1.
What had looked like a healthy six-player Australian presence has disappeared before the third round begins.
That qualifies as a deeply disappointing US Open for Australian women’s tennis.
Townsend Gets Shnaider Next
Townsend’s tournament, meanwhile, is moving in precisely the opposite direction.
She opened by beating No. 20 seed Maja Chwalinska 6-2, 6-3 and has now conceded only two games to Preston.
The RallyHer bracket confirms that her third-round opponent will be No. 15 seed Diana Shnaider, who beat Karolina Pliskova 6-1, 7-6(4).
That is a substantial increase in difficulty.
It is also a fascinating stylistic match.
Shnaider brings far more weight of shot than Preston and will be much harder to dislodge from the baseline.
Townsend brings something very different.
The left-handed serve. The net approaches. The changes of height and pace. The ability to make a rally look unlike the one that came before it.
And right now, she is executing all of it extremely well.
For the Australian women, the US Open is over.
Taylor Townsend’s looks increasingly interesting.